1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention are related to the field of data communication, and in particular, to receiving communication devices.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical receiver for a radio frequency signal (RF signal) includes at least a combination of an amplifier and a mixer for signal amplification and frequency conversion. There may be multiple amplifiers and mixers in a signal receive path of a receiver. The amplifiers in the signal-receive path may introduce nonlinearities into the processed RF signal, which may affect a baseband signal provided by the receiver. For example, although the output y of an ideal amplifier is related to its input x by the linear equation y=gx (where g is the gain of the amplifier), the relationship between the input and output of a real amplifier may be characterized by the equation y=a0+a1 x+a2 x2 +a3 x3 +. . . , where the power terms (e.g., a2 x2 +a3 x3) represent nonlinear distortion introduced by the real amplifier. Other real signal processing devices introduce similar nonlinear distortion into their output. As a result, the outputs of real signal processing devices differ from the desired, ideal outputs.